let's begin with the words of bob woodward it avoid the crisis next time try dell getting the job. players used their staff as messagers and backen but never empowered them to solve the problem. could the staffers have done better? guest: as a former staffer you always think that you know all the solutions but it is the members of congress and senators that have to face election. it is a lot easier to get in a back room without worrying about constituents and solve these problems. i know a lot of staffers would be mortified with what bob woodward had to say. guest: it didn't and it didn't work in the debt limit debacle. i have a lot of respect for bob woodward. i'm not not quite sure i understood what that was getting at. staffers can only go so far and it is up to members to legislate. anyway, interesting piece but i'm not sure i buy the premise. host: how do you fix the problem because there seemed to be a problem coming to an agreement. was it the negotiation, the make-up of the republican congress? or the issues? guest: i think that the real problem is we have a republican part